Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

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Expand view Topic review: Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

Re: Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

by OzRattler » Fri Oct 14, 2011 3:36 am

I just love how the next set of videos after viewing the flight over Earth, are all UFO based! Now why have we not seen some scientific photos of these clever alien craft on APOD? :wink:

Of course! They are too clever to be snapped by scientists.

Have fun!

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Re: Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

by bystander » Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:31 pm

crayshort wrote:I so want to vote for the QR Code.
Go here: http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=25535

Re: Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

by crayshort » Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:57 pm

I so want to vote for the QR Code.

Re: Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

by Elusieum » Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:14 pm

I voted for "Galaxy in a Bubble" and "Flying over Planet Earth".

Galaxy in a bubble is just so beautiful. I made it my computer desktop image (is that allowed? Do I need permission?).

Flying over Planet Earth struck me as very profound. It's a sight that early people's wouldn't have dreamed to be able to see.

I love "Not a Comet" because I love Messier's "Not a Comet" list. I find it amusing. I was very happy to learn that he did indeed find many comets, so it seemed to work for him.

Re: Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

by owlice » Tue Oct 11, 2011 1:16 pm

M27 got the most votes of the September images which were part of that week's poll. If it had gotten the most votes for that particular week, it would still have been included in the September poll, not the August, since it's a September APOD.

Dry Ice Pits did not get the most votes of its week, either (the image which did get the most votes that week is part of the poll, too), but as I have some discretion over what goes into a poll, almost always have to round out the number of entries for the APOM polls, really really really like HiRISE images (news to all, I'm sure 8-) ), and really really really like that particular image, I included it. I'm sure it won't get the most votes (darn it!), though it will definitely get one of mine.

Re: Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

by canopia » Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:35 pm

From this selection of six APODs, my first vote would go to Flying Over Planet Earth. Second vote swings between Galaxy In A Bubble and Apollo 17 Site.

By the way, M27: Not A Comet was not the winner in its week, even though it is looking lovely to me.

Poll: Astronomy Picture of the Month for 2011 September

by owlice » Tue Oct 11, 2011 2:22 am

_____________________________________________________________________

Please vote for the two best APODs (image and text) for September, 2011. All titles are clickable and link to the original APOD page.

We ask for your help in choosing an APOM, as this helps Jerry and Robert create "year in APOD images" review lectures and a free PDF calendar at year's end, and provides feedback on which images and APODs were relatively well received.

We are very interested to know why you selected the APODs for which you voted; if you would like to tell us, please reply to this thread. Thank you!

Thank you!
_____________________________________________________________________

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While hunting for comets in the skies above 18th century France, astronomer Charles Messier diligently kept a list of the things he encountered that were definitely not comets. This is number 27 on his now famous not-a-comet list. In fact, 21st century astronomers would identify it as a planetary nebula, but it's not a planet either, even though it may appear round and planet-like in a small telescope. Messier 27 (M27) is an excellent example of a gaseous emission nebula created as a sun-like star runs out of nuclear fuel in its core. The nebula forms as the star's outer layers are expelled into space, with a visible glow generated by atoms excited by the dying star's intense but invisible ultraviolet light. Known by the popular name of the Dumbbell Nebula, the beautifully symmetric interstellar gas cloud is over 2.5 light-years across and about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. This impressive color composite highlights details within the well-studied central region and fainter, seldom imaged features in the nebula's outer halo. It incorporates broad and narrowband images recorded using filters sensitive to emission from sulfur, hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

This view of the Apollo 17 landing site in the Taurus-Littrow valley was captured last month by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), the sharpest ever recorded from space. The high resolution image data was taken during a period when LRO's orbit was modified to create a close approach of about 22 kilometers as it passed over some of the Apollo landing sites. That altitude corresponds to only about twice the height of a commercial airline flight over planet Earth. Labeled in this image are Apollo 17 lunar lander Challenger's descent stage (inset), the lunar rover (LRV) at its final parking spot, and the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) left to monitor the Moon's environment and interior. Clear, dual lunar rover tracks and the foot trails left by astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, the last to walk on the lunar surface, are also easily visible at the Apollo 17 site.

Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years away, toward the constellation Leo. Relatively bright in planet Earth's sky, NGC 3521 is easily visible in small telescopes but often overlooked by amateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies, like M66 and M65. It's hard to overlook in this colorful cosmic portrait, though. Spanning some 50,000 light-years the galaxy sports characteristic patchy, irregular spiral arms laced with dust, pink star forming regions, and clusters of young, blue stars. Remarkably, this deep image also finds NGC 3521 embedded in gigantic bubble-like shells. The shells are likely tidal debris, streams of stars torn from satellite galaxies that have undergone mergers with NGC 3521 in the distant past.

September's equinox arrives today at 0905 UT. As the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south, spring begins in the southern hemisphere and autumn in the north. And though the seasonal connection is still puzzling, both spring and autumn bring an increase in geomagnetic storms. So as northern nights grow longer, the equinox also heralds the arrival of a good season for viewing aurora. Recorded earlier this month, these curtains of September's shimmering green light sprawl across a gorgeous night skyscape. In the foreground lies Hidden Lake Territorial Park near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Calm water reflects the aurora, with bright star trails peering through the mesmerizing sky glow. Of course, shining at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so, planet Earth's auroras are visible from space.

Part of Mars is defrosting. Around the South Pole of Mars, toward the end of every Martian summer, the warm weather causes a section of the vast carbon-dioxide ice cap to evaporate. Pits begin to appear and expand where the carbon dioxide dry ice sublimates directly into gas. These ice sheet pits may appear to be lined with gold, but the precise composition of the dust that highlights the pit walls actually remains unknown. The circular depressions toward the image center measure about 60 meters across. The HiRISE camera aboard the Mars-orbiting Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the above image in late July. In the next few months, as Mars continues its journey around the Sun, colder seasons will prevail, and the thin air will turn chilly enough not only to stop the defrosting but once again freeze out more layers of solid carbon dioxide.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Image Credit: NASA; Acknowledgement: Infinity Imagined
Have you ever dreamed of flying high above the Earth? Astronauts visiting the International Space Station do this every day, circling our restless planet twice every three hours. A dramatic example of their view was compiled in the above time-lapse video from images taken earlier this month. As the ISS speeds into the nighttime half of the globe, familiar constellations of stars remain visible above. An aerosol haze of Earth's thin atmosphere is visible on the horizon as an thin multi-colored ring. Many wonders whiz by below, including vast banks of white clouds, large stretches of deep blue sea, land lit up by the lights of big cities and small towns, and storm clouds flashing with lightning. The video starts over the northern Pacific Ocean and then passes from western North America to western South America, ending near Antarctica as daylight finally approaches.

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